| | | | If you've been following US politics this week, you've probably heard the alarming announcement that taking Tylenol (paracetamol) during pregnancy is linked to autism. However, there is no scientific evidence to support this, as Renee Gardner's research team can verify. Their 2024 study – which looked at a whopping 2.5 million births – aimed to answer this exact question. It found no link between the common painkiller and autism, or any other neurodevelopmental disorder for that matter. When faced with any difficult decision, it's normally best to take emotions out of the picture, look at the facts, and make a clearheaded, rational choice. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, but if you speak a second language, you could try using it to talk through the options. That's because speaking a language other than your mother tongue is proven to make you more analytical and less emotional – but does it also influence your final decision? Researchers at Nebrija University have been working hard to answer this question, getting scores of subjects to confront moral dilemmas in either their first or second languages. The difference is striking. First language answers feature much more emotional words, as well as more fear and guilt over rule breaking and a greater sense of duty. Second language responses, on the other hand, take a much more analytical, utilitarian approach. As for AI models, the jury's still out over whether they have emotions – though perhaps not for the people who chat to them like friends, engage in erotic roleplay with them, and even marry them. These users humanise and personalise their AI companions by engaging in what researchers call "consumer imagination work". Learn more about this process of how a chatbot becomes "someone" here. In international politics, this week has seen a raft of countries officially recognise a Palestinian state. Find out exactly what this means for Palestine, Israel and the international community in our expert Q&A. |  | Alex Minshall Editor, Valencia | |  Renee Gardner, Karolinska Institutet; Brian Lee, Drexel University; Viktor H. Ahlqvist, Karolinska Institutet Our research provides strong evidence against the concerning claims made recently by US president Donald Trump. |  Irini Mavrou, Universidad Nebrija; UCL; Andreas Kyriakou, Universidad Nebrija The 'moral foreign language effect' makes you more rational, and less emotional. | | |  George Kyris, University of Birmingham Diplomatic recognition, when done in concert, carries more heft than isolated gestures – and governments know this. | |  Alisa Minina Jeunemaître, EM Lyon Business School; Jamie Smith, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo da Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV/EAESP); Stefania Masè, IPAG Business School The strong bonds that users are forming with their AI chatbots rest on the human imagination at work. |  Elena Escubedo Rafa, Universitat de Barcelona These synthetic opioids are taking over from fentanyl, but even a tiny dose can be lethal. | |  Sabine Ruaud, EDHEC Business School; Rose K. Bideaux, Université Paris 8 – Vincennes Saint-Denis Each era has its signature colours: baby boomers' pastels, millennials' pink, gen Z's yellow and neon green – hues that reflect culture and mood as much as fashion. | | | | | -
Tanguy Gatay, Université Paris Nanterre – Université Paris Lumières In 2023, the French luxury giant LVMH participated in the acquisition of an Impressionist painting by the Musée d'Orsay, a transaction combining patronage, public relations and tax optimisation. -
Xosé López-García, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela; Cristian Augusto Gonzalez Arias, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso Metaphors help us understand complexity, but they can also be dangerous, or even misleading. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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